Amazon Prime releases Man City docu-series trailer
July 24 – Amazon Prime Video has released a trailer for its Manchester City docu-series that will launch on the streaming service August 17.
‘German when we win, immigrant when we lose’ – Ozil quits over DFB’s racist attitude
By Andrew Warshaw
July 23 – In a remarkable move that has spilled over into the political arena, Arsenal’s German international midfielder Mesut Ozil has quit international football at the age of just 29 claiming he can no longer take the “racism and disrespect” he says he has faced over his Turkish roots.
CAF back Pinnick in Nigerian row as government calls for emergency talks
July 23 – The political in-fighting plaguing Nigerian football has taken another twist with the man ousted as head of the national federation (NFF) being personally endorsed by his confederation.
AC Milan cleared to play in Europa League after CAS rules in favour of new owners
July 23 – In a rare ruling against football’s authorities, AC Milan have been reinstated into the Europa League next season after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) overturned UEFA’s decision to exclude them for infringing financial fair play (FFP) rules.
The economics of Ronaldo – counting the €340m cost and opportunity of Juve’s superstar
July 23 – Cristiano Ronaldo’s €117 million transfer from Real Madrid to Juventus has polarised opinion with car union protests over the ‘immoral’ size of his transfer and wages, and fan excitement at what he will bring to the Italian champions.
Egyptian and US investors take control at Aston Villa, but Xia keeps a stake the game
July 23 – Aston Villa is under new majority control after billionaire businessmen Naseef Sawiris and Wes Edens bought a reported 55% controlling stake in the club for £30 million from Chinese owner Tony Xia.
Napoli owner de Laurentiis tells Chelsea and Sarri to back-off stealing his team
July 23 – New Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has been accused of trying to “dismantle” former club Napoli by the Italian club’s president Aurelio de Laurentiis.
Premier League granted further blocking order in battle against live match piracy
July 23 – With broadcast piracy issues increasingly concerning sports rights owners anxious to maintain their TV deals and value in an increasingly disrupted marketplace, the Premier League has won a further blocking order in the UK High Court forcing pirate streams to shut down.
MUTV expands channel distribution to Amazon, Apple, Roku and Xbox
July 23 – Premier League club Manchester United have expanded TV channel distribution platforms to streaming services Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku and Xbox. The club last season launched MUTV on iOS, Android and on the web at MUTV.com.
Roma owner Pallotta benched after referee ‘joke’ comments after CL semi vs Liverpool
July 23 – Roma’s American billionaire owner James Pallotta has been handed a three-month suspension by UEFA for comments after their Champions League semi-final defeat by Liverpool.
Fans spend €1.3bn in Russia during World Cup 2018
By Paul Nicholson
July 20 – Overseas fans in Russia for the World Cup spent about €1.3 billion between June 14 and July 16, according to a report by Russia’s Sberbank.
Russia 2018 scored A+ for medical provision – FIFA
By David Owen
July 20 – The chairman of FIFA’s medical committee has described medical provision during Russia 2018 as the best he has experienced in 10 World Cups.
Amazon builds its football presence with dedicated on-line Napoli store
July 20 – US digital giant Amazon is inserting itself deeper and deeper into football’s economic foodchain with the launch by Serie A’s Napoli of its own store on the ecommerce platform.
Klopp picks through the bones of an increasingly crowded international calendar
July 20 – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says the gruelling demands of international football are getting so serious that clubs will soon be “collecting the bones” of overworked players.
FIFA issues fines to non-paying clubs failing to follow the rules, and rulings
July 20 – Clubs from Russia and Qatar, World Cup hosts past and future, are among six fined by FIFA and warned they risk one-year transfer bans for failing to settle debts to players.